WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) – Worcester police are searching for a suspect accused of stabbing a bus driver on Wednesday.
Emergency crews were called to the scene onboard a Worcester Regional Transit Authority bus that was parked on the side of Lincoln Street around 2:40 p.m., according to police.
The driver was slashed from ear to chin and was rushed to the hospital where he received 100 stitches on his face and several more on his hand.
His fiance, Kayla Peters said she was at work Wednesday afternoon when she heard of the stabbing.
“I had already had messages from people asking me if he’s OK, so that’s when I put two and two together,” she said.
As Peters was rushing to the hospital to be by his side, police were pulling surveillance video and audio from the bus as well as surrounding stores hoping for any clue on the suspect’s identity.
On Thursday, investigators released a photo of the suspect they identified as 28-year-old Dashaun Stokes-Sims.
A spokesperson for the WRTA said the assault took just seconds and appears to be targeted.
The company told 7NEWS that their buses are equipped with security cameras that face the driver’s seat. A preliminary review of that video shows the suspect getting onto the bus and coming at the driver.
Peters said her fiance has been with the company for five years.
“I was nervous and you know I’m just glad he’s alive. That’s what matters the most to me, that he’s alive,” she said.
The driver is now out of the hospital and wants to remain anonymous but, in a Facebook post, he wrote:
“Thank you for all the love and prayers. But yes I’m the one who got stabbed on the bus. But it’s not my time. I’ll be alright.”
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